Any ideas? Old style nautical workshop, has anyone done this?

[jbibler]

Hey guys,
I'm in the process of building my garage. I have a 1930's craftsman style house and i'm building the garage exterior to match the house.

This post is in regards to the inside. I love history and antiques or mantiques as my wife calls them. I'm also very interested in nautical pieces as I live near the water in West Central Florida. I fish a lot and just enjoy vintage nautical pieces.

I want to build the inside of my garage so it resembles an old nautical barn. I've been gathering used dock boards and other used lumber to re-purpose for my garage (although I don't know exactly where yet). I have some old barn/nautical pulleys, brass lighting, and some signage i plan to use as well. I think if I use the re-purposed wood with old cleats and other nautical hardware I can accomplish this to a certain extent.

My goal is to have a very practical and usable space for working on my boat, truck, projects, etc. but still have a rustic look/feel. I want it to be clean and organized, but still have a warm feel. This seems like a bit of a challenge since I have newer tools, toolbox, compressor, etc.

Has anyone done this before or have any ideas for designing a work bench, cabinets, storage, etc.? One thought I had was to make cover pieces (using reclaimed wood) for large equipment that attaches with magnets.

The building itself is wood frame, 20' wide & 50' deep. The rear of the building, 10'x20' will be enclosed as a mancave area with a/c, etc. for my nicer pieces and computer desk. The main building will have concrete floors, so i'm considering staining or covering with something that is more fitting. Obviously the more wood/rope used will help with the ascetics.

Just brain storming for ideas so I can build accordingly. The biggest problem i have is I'm broke and a lot of these really cool vintage items are expensive, so i'll be building or re-purposing as much as I can.

Thanks,
Josh B.

Here are a few ideas I've found browsing online:

 

[MarkG]

Being the builder of 2 wooden boats myself and a former subscriber to WoodenBoat Magazine, I'd suggest that magazine (or maybe website by now?) for pics of real, actual wooden boat shops, both historical and current----lots of good reference material in there!

 

[alfazer]

This sounds like a great theme for a workshop. I love the pictures you have used above, but I'm also thinking about those timeless Italian Riva powerboats and the colours of the wood, the cream and duck egg blue or green trim. I think those colours are the most amazing combination.
You might get some ideas searching Pinterest for Riva, Aquarama, Boathouse, and so on.

 

[Orionrising]

those pictures have inspired me to hangu up some of my old time tools on the wall



couple of em are nauticalish

 

[Cougar67]

those pictures have inspired me to hangu up some of my old time tools on the wall...

couple of em are nauticalish

You did all that since OP posted yesterday at 5:30 p.m.? Pretty impressive. I really like vintage tools on the wall. Sadly I have very little free wall space and no vintage tools.

I like the idea of a nautical garage. I already share my space with the boat project (Boston Whaler with mahogany parts) oars, sailboat parts, surfboards and fishing rods. I can't say I've seen anyone go with it as a "theme" here. I tried to google a pic of the inside of our maritime museum with no luck. I did find pictures by searching "boat shed." Post pictures if you do it.

 

[jbibler]

Thanks guys. I live near the Village of Cortez and they have commercial fishing docks as well as a couple old time boat building houses. They are very cool. Also there's the Manatee Maritime Museum that has tons of awesome pieces. Like I said before, I find great pieces all the time... but most folks have figured out that they can get a premium prices selling these to high-end customers. So my finds come from local estate sales... and because i'm saving every penny i have to actually build the garage it's not the best time for me to be burning money on toys. We just had a baby and my wife has taken 4 months off from her job to be at home, so the funding is tight right now.

Alfazer - I also like the colors of the boats you posted and coincidentally it's not too far off from the current colors of our house. I definitely think that could be the color theme i go with. Here's our current front porch and you can see the shake siding is dark brown and the ceiling is an aqua blue color.

I'm finding tons of great images and ideas on Pinterest and just searching google. I have to find anyone who has built a new construction project and made it look old. Everything i'm finding are actually old boathouse that have been cleaned up some.

When i have some spare time i'm going to go down to the commercial fishing village and parooze around to see what i can find.

Josh B.

 

[vetron]

I love it, looks great! No advice because nautical is not my thing but I can completely understand the desire for an antique look. thumbs up

 

[Orionrising]

Yep deck screws and zip ties and a lag bolt for the boring machine. Now I don't have to keep moving the box of em around. 10 ft ceilings leave a lot of wall space

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

 

[kbs2244]

Your PICs say it all.
Raw wood shelves and cabinets.
(Often very dusty.)
High ceilings because boats can be tall things,
and empty room in the center so you can walk/work on all sides of the project.

 

[turbowoodworker]

Study some of the more common knots used in the boat yard and on ships. If you can find short segments of large rope especially hemp or Manilla rope, you can create really interesting pieces. My dad was a Petty Officer First Class boatswain's mate World War II Era. He was pretty good with marlinspike seamanship. Find an old blue jackets manual to study how to make the knots.